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    Gendered Laws
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12) Hyland, Marie Caitriona ; Djankov, Simeon ; Goldberg, Pinelopi Koujianou
    This paper offers for the first time a global picture of gender discrimination by the law as it affects women's economic opportunity and charts the evolution of legal inequalities over five decades. Using the World Bank's newly extended Women, Business and the Law database, the paper documents large and persistent gender inequalities, especially with regard to equal pay and treatment of parenthood. The paper finds positive associations between improvements in the law and several labor market outcomes, and establishes a small, but over time increasing, causal impact of more equal laws on higher female labor force participation.
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    Opening Remarks at the 2019 Annual Meetings Opening Press Conference
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10-17) Malpass, David
    David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, highlighted the urgent priorities for discussion with shareholders. Global growth is slowing. Investment is sluggish, manufacturing activity is soft, and trade is weakening. The challenges of climate change and fragility are making poor countries more vulnerable. This backdrop makes our goals of reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity even harder. He suggested that with the right mix of policies and structural reforms, countries can unleash growth that's broadly shared across all segments of society. He spoke about how the Bank is helping countries build strong programs tailored to the unique circumstances of their economies. He highlighted the importance of education. He mentioned the proposed IDA replenishment, and reaffirmed commitment to projects on climate and on gender inclusion. In conclusion, he said that the well-designed structural reforms are needed to unlock growth and build the foundations for future prosperity.
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    Middle East and North Africa Economic Update, October 2019: Reaching New Heights - Promoting Fair Competition in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-10-09) Arezki, Rabah ; Ait Ali Slimane, Meriem ; Barone, Andrea ; Decker, Klaus ; Detter, Dag ; Fan, Rachel Yuting ; Nguyen, Ha ; Miralles Murciego, Graciela ; Senbet, Lemma
    Part I of this report discusses the short- and medium-term growth prospects for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region is expected to grow at a subdued rate of 0.6 percent in 2019, rising to 2.6 percent in 2020 and 2.9 percent in 2021. The growth forecast for 2019 is revised down by 0.8 percentage points from the April 2019 projection. MENA’s economic outlook is subject to substantial downside risks—most notably, intensified global economic headwinds and rising geopolitical tensions. Part II argues that promoting fair competition is key for MENA countries to complete the transition from an administered to a market economy. Part II first examines current competition policies in MENA countries and to promote fair competition calls for strengthening competition law and enforcement agencies. It also calls for corporatizing state-owned enterprises, promoting the private sector and creating a level-playing field between them. Any moves to reform MENA economies would be aided by professional management of public assets, which could tap into a new source of national wealth.
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    Driving Growth from the Ground Up
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10-07) Malpass, David
    David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, spoke about the urgency of growth in developing countries. He discussed innovations in digital financial services that provide secure systems to allow poor people to electronically receive remittances, foreign aid, and social safety-net payments as well as their earnings. He cautioned about the slow global growth, and it's paramount that countries carry out well-designed structural reforms to ignite domestic growth. He highlighted on the importance of a clear analysis and understanding of a country's laws and regulations and a path of reforms or catalytic investments that will expand the private sector. Finally, he concluded by saying that World Bank Group won’t give up on its main goal of reducing extreme poverty.
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    The World Bank Annual Report 2019: Ending Poverty, Investing in Opportunity
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-10-02) World Bank
    The Annual Report is prepared by the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)--collectively known as the World Bank--in accordance with the by-laws of the two institutions. The President of the IBRD and IDA and the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors submits the Report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.
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    Remarks at the 2019 UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09-23) Malpass, David
    David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, spoke about the importance of accelerating progress toward universal health coverage (UHC), which is critical in alleviating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. He highlighted on the role of IDA in funding the low-income countries for healthcare. He stated that the IDA funding was not enough and estimated a financing gap to achieve UHC in fifty-four of the poorest countries. He proposed four priority areas to close that gap. He concluded by saying that the country leadership is critical to build a healthier, prosperous, promising future for their people.
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    Women in Water Utilities: Breaking Barriers
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08-27) World Bank
    Women are significantly underrepresented in the water workforce. Multiple barriers, ranging from social norms, to inadequate HR policies, to an unwelcoming work environment, pose challenges to female water professionals’ entering, staying and advancing in the water sector. This study explores these barriers and provides utilities with practical approaches to advance their gender diversity.
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    Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-08-20) Damania, Richard ; Desbureaux, Sébastien ; Rodella, Aude-Sophie ; Russ, Jason ; Zaveri, Esha
    Water quantity—too much in the case of floods, or too little in the case of droughts—grabs public attention and the media spotlight. Water quality—being predominantly invisible and hard to detect—goes largely unnoticed. Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis presents new evidence and new data that call urgent attention to the hidden dangers lying beneath water’s surface. It shows how poor water quality stalls economic progress, stymies human potential, and reduces food production. Quality Unknown examines the effects of water quality on economic growth and finds upstream pollution lowers growth in downstream regions. It reveals that some of the most ubiquitous contaminants in water, such as nitrates and salt, have impacts that are larger, deeper, and wider than has been acknowledged. And it traces the damage to crop yields and the stark implications for food security in affected regions. An important step toward tackling the world’s water quality challenge is recognizing its scale. The world needs reliable, accurate, and comprehensive information so that policy makers can have new insights, decision making can be evidence based, and citizens can call for action. The report calls for a paradigm shift that emphasizes safer, and often more cost-effective remedies that prevent pollution by combining smarter policies with newer technologies. A key message of Quality Unknown is that such solutions exist and change is possible.
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    Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass on Bretton Woods 75th Anniversary
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-07-16) Malpass, David
    David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 1944 conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire which led to the creation of the World Bank. He spoke about key historical events and development challenges. He discussed the IDA19 replenishment and its importance to the Sahel. He noted the evolution of development policy and development finance, including highlights like the debt crisis, globally traded bonds, and Green Bonds. He mentioned advisory services and key reports produced by the Group.
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    Remarks from World Bank Group President David Malpass at the G20 Leaders Summit
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06-29) Malpass, David
    These remarks were delivered by David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, at the G20 Leaders Summit held in Osaka, Japan. He spoke about how giving women better access to economic opportunities is critical to eliminate differences in living standards between men and women. He highlighted We-Fi which is so important and how the Bank was proud to celebrate its two-year anniversary in Osaka. He spoke about the developing countries and the Bank's role in actively identifying changes in the private sector environment that will attract investment and enable higher living standards and better lives. He explained the Bank's work in fragile states, such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, to help countries build stronger foundations so that young people are more able to stay rather than seeking to immigrate. He discussed reducing inequality and realizing inclusive and sustainable growth around the world, and how addressing these requires jobs, education, healthcare, attention to the environment, and robust commerce and trade among neighbors and nations. He concluded by saying that the Bank would continue to work with all the nations on these challenges.